Christian Festivals
The Portuguese played a major part in changing the religion of some communities in Goa. The Goan Christians are indeed separate from the Christians around the world. Although most of them are Catholics, they also follow some Hindu rituals in worshipping their deity. Fairs or feasts or Jatras is the main theme for festivity in Goa. Sometimes these Jatras turn into religious festivals.
The Feast of Three Kings:In the region of Salcete stands a hill in Quelim. On that hill there stands a centuries old stone Chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios or Our Lady of Cures. The beautiful statue of Madonna is seen holding the Child Jesus in open arm. In other hand she holds a small vase containing the panacea for all ills. The Goans believe that the lady can cure any ill and can fulfill any wish. She is therefore also known as the lady of miracles.
On the day of the festivity she is covered with gems and jewels offered by the believers as their token of gratitude. A large number of Hindu devotees too make the yearly pilgrimage to the Mount to worship the Madonna. The Hill of Remedios is situated at such a dizzy height that one can practically see the whole of Goa nestling around in a panoramic picture at its feet. The peace and calm atmosphere is the perfect ambience to relax ones mind.
This isolated hill suddenly wears a festive look on the January 6th every year when the tree kings come to offer Madonna their gifts for the infant Jesus. But before this for nine days, devotees throng this place either for thanksgiving or for asking for a favour from the lady of the mount. The dramatic climax is reached on January 6, the day of the Feast of the Magi, when three little boys dressed as kings come with their retinue to offer gifts to the lady and the child God.
Boys aged 8 to 10 from the neighbouring villages of Quelim, Cansaulim and Arrosim, only, are selected to be kings. Mounted on white horses, dressed in royal attire and jewel studded crown with a brass band, they make their way up the mount where they are seated with respect and after accepting the gifts are sent back in the same way. Whole of Goa comes to see the dazzling ceremony of these three kings’ retinues coming from three different routes.
The place takes a shape of huge fair with various goods and goodies on sale. But ironically the whole place suddenly gets deserted by noon. People believe that the place is haunted and the ghosts roam there after noon and therefore the whole mania ends almost abruptly. Everything is moved down including the priests and the decoration. Only the lady and her child stand on the hill and wait for the next year to come.
The Feast if St. Francis Xavier:The body of St Francis Xavier lies in a silver casket in the Church of Bom Jesus in Goa. Ceremonies to honor his death are performed on December 3, the day he was buried. This day takes the shape of a great fair in the area. Every 10years the mortal remains of the saint would be taken out and put in a glass casket for the devotees to have a look. The last was in 1994. There are many stalls selling trinkets and souvenirs in the fair that is held on the occasion. A wide variety of food and drinks are also available. The pilgrimage turns into a picnic for quite a few families, as they shop in the little lanes decorated with streamers. The ambience of the church site is happy and festive.
Born in Spain on April 7, 1506, St. Francis Xavier India in 1543, and immediately undertook the task of influencing the Goan people. The body was interred in a cemetery in Malacca for about two years before it was brought to its final resting place in Goa. Until then the body had not been decomposed.
Sao Joao:This feast of St John the Baptist is celebrated mostly in the northern part of Goa, at the onset of monsoon on June 24th. On this day young men around Goa jump into wells to retrieve gifts thrown in by villagers. In Siolim, a village in north Goa, colourful boat races are organised. Christians believe that John the Baptist leaping for joy in his mother, Elizabeth�s, womb when she was told of Jesus� birth. He later went on to baptize Jesus in the river Jordan. The well is considered to be a representation of Elizabeth�s womb and a jump into it a sign of joy for the birth of Christ.
The festival is celebrated with great fervour and gusto, particularly in Siolim, Anjuna, Candolim, Calangute and Assagao. It is like any other Goan feast with the captivating spirit of merriment, colour and tradition. People dressed in colourful outfits from several villages meet near a stream front in carnival-coloured boats and floats.
The procession of Saints:The sleepy village of Goa Velha hosts this renowned and honoured Procession of the Saints on the first Monday of Easter week. This tradition began in the 17th century by the Franciscan Order in an attempt to boost the moral values and pious behaviour of the community and inspire them to take to their hearts the teachings of Jesus Christ. Goa is the only other place besides Rome that such a procession is held since centuries.
Life-size richly decorated statues of saints, martyrs, kings, and queens are carried in palanquins on the shoulders of Native Christians. The traditional procession of saints draws thousands of Christian devotees. It's probably the biggest event in the village.
The life size statues of 31 saints are kept for veneration for three days in the church after the procession. Though a religious occasion, the evening atmosphere is filled with gaiety as the fair comes to life on the main road outside the church. Typical of any Church feast, the roads are lined with stalls selling everything from sweets to wind-up gadgets. It becomes a whole family affair as people come out in formal clothes to hear mass, watch the procession, and enjoy the gaiety of the outdoor feast.
Touxeachem Fest:This unusual feat is held in the magnificent Church of St Anne also known as the Santana Church. Located at Talaulim it is dedicated to St Anne and the feast is celebrated on July 29. Touxeachem Fest (in Konkani) literally translates as the Cucumber Feast in English.
Another fascinating feature of this feast is the fairly large number of Hindu devotees who come to celebrate the feast and pay their respects to St Anne. Even while the mass is going on, there is a continuous line of Hindu devotees waiting to touch the statue of St Anne.
Good Friday:This festival is celebrated in reverence as it is celebrated all around the world by Catholics. It takes place at the end of the period of Lent which lasts for 40 days in February and March, beginning with Ash Wednesday. Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday.
A special mass and procession take place in almost every church in Goa, but the best celebration takes place in the capital city of Panaji. The spectacular celebration takes place in the square of the Church of Mary Immaculate Conception. Large crowds in formal clothes, gather in the square to participate in the mass and the Way of the Cross.
Christmas:The birth of Jesus Christ is the day of joy for the whole of Goa. The festive is on for nearly 15 days as it starts a week before Christmas and ends well after the new celebrations. In Goa the festival cuts across the limits of the Church to spill over into the streets for all to participate. It is a time for merry-making and exchanging gifts. Carols are sung, trees are decorated various local sweets along with cakes and puddings are made and stars are hung on the doors. The entire atmosphere is one of festivity. Goa is lit up with Christmas stars and lights that come on to herald the birth of Christ and the peal of bells rent the air. Churches organize the midnight Mass. The service on Christmas Day is attended by Christians dressed in new clothes.
Shops overflow with gifts and are overcrowded with people. The Goan touch to this festival is that nearly every Christian family before Christmas dresses one of the family as Santa Claus to go and fetch money from door to door
This money is used for charity. Children make small replicas of the birth scene of Jesus around their houses and near the churches. Though the people try to make it a family affair, gifts are bought and exchanged and merrymaking and rejoicing is the main motto.
On the eve of the New Year, children make effigies of an old man, symbolizing the past. They burn these effigies in the night to welcome the New Year with new attitude and enthusiasm.